Understanding the Gap

In regards to the education system and race I feel as though I personally relate to it when it comes to expectations and how those expectations reflect the amount of attention and help the students and the schools recieve. It has been shown that there is a noticeable gap in achievement levels between black and latino students in comparison to white students. There are many reasons for this and a large amount of situational factors play a role in the creation of the achievement gap, but every day society tends to fall back on stereotypical reasoning. As a result of the negative stereotypes associated with black and latino people, it seems as though teachers expect less out of them and are surprised when they do well and unsurprised when they fall behind.

By ignoring the real contributing factors to the educational achievement gap such as socioeconomic status, lack of access to resources, and other combatants that can result from those things, as noted in the LATimes, the education system is unable to fix the gap and help minority students achieve at the same level as their white peers. In my own experience, I really noticed the difference in education between minority and white students when it came time for me to enter high school. Because I lived in Inglewood, I was set to go to high school at Inglewood High. However, my mom worked in West Hills and I had gone to middle school out there so, naturally, I wanted to go to high school out there as well. Just looking at the two different high schools, I could tell the difference in the quality of education. Inglewood High School wasn’t very well maintained, the text books were older and outdated and it seemed as though students were just passing through because they had to. At Chatsworth, the school I ended up going to, the campus was a lot cleaner, the textbooks weren’t always current but they were a lot nicer and more up to date than the ones at Inglewood, and there were a lot more opportunities for students to succeed. It was as if the teachers and the administration expected more out of the students. 

Funding for schools and the amount of help and resources they receive is heavily dependent of the success rates of the students. If it appears as though white students perform better than minority students, those students are going to receive more help. Inglewood High School is a predominantly black school while Chatsworth was a school in a predominantly white area (although the student population was fairly diverse).  All of this can go back to the notion of structural racism and white privilege. As a result of racist laws that led to the segregation of white and minority groups, whites still tend to make up a good portion of the population in more affluent areas. These affluent areas receive more resources that help people further their success. Experts in this area of research have found that the reason behind the disparities in education are due to subtle gaps in opportunity. Being raised in low income areas of poverty leaves children with less access to resources both at home and at school. For example, studies have shown that 68% of higher-income middle school students had access to math teachers who were considered to be of high quality while that very same statement was true for only 53% of low-income students.  With a history of having more opportunity, white families are able to help the younger generations that are in school today. That cultural capital (approximately 23% of white parents have a BA, while 11% of black parents and 8% of Hispanic parents have the same credentials), access to material resources, as well as lack of environmental and psychological stressors that minority children may be experiencing, it makes sense that there is a gap in educational achievement.

If people pay attention to these things and realize that if all children were given the same opportunities, and funding and support were given to schools based on need rather than raw test scores, the achievement gap between students can be lessened and opportunities for success would be far easier to come by.